Reps Circular
From Sheenagh Burrell, ALMA Co-ordinator
almacoordinator@london.anglican.org T: Tuesdays: 020 7932 1231
Dear ALMA Reps and Friends in Angola, London and Mozambique,
Cristo ressuscitou
Eleressuscitou verdadeiramente!
I hope you all had a very blessed Easter and that the challenge Bishop Richard articulated on Easter Eve ‘to pray down the Kingdom into present reality’, reinforced by the words of St Catherine of Siena on 29 April ‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire’ stirred your hearts – and for ALMA too!
Hearts seem to need our prayer. Please continue to pray for Dinos Kousoulou and Jo Gordon (whose surgery is on 19 May) and now for Bishop Mark too. He has, after being unwell for a few weeks, been diagnosed with arrythmia and has to go to South Africa this week for tests and medication. When we are together at the ALMA Reps meeting on Monday 16 May we will pray for them all.
This circular contains
Monday 16 May 6-8 pm ALMA REPS MEETING at London Diocesan House Main Hall. Refreshments from 5.40pm
Main Speakers - Rooted in Jesus Team: Richard Thomas and Revd Matthew Grayshon. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the training course used in Angola and Niassa, and to hear about the new UK course ‘Beyond Ourselves’ which link parishes are encouraged to study in tandem with their partners. All welcome. Please RSVP for refreshment purposes
There will also be time to spend with each other, talk about ALMA Sunday and the service at St Paul’s, and Teresa, ALMA Rep at St Mary the Virgin Primrose Hill, will be teaching us our next piece of liturgy in Portuguese!
Saturday 9 July MANNA 2011 AGM will be held on 12 midday at the parish church of St John the Divine, Vassal Road Kennington - a short walk from The Oval station on the Northern Line. The Trustees will meet briefly at 11 am before the main meeting as usual.
Sunday 10 July ALMA SUNDAY Eucharist, St Paul’s Cathedral at 6pm with Bishop Dinis Sengulane. Please put this in your diaries now so we can have a real celebration as the ALMA link becomes a teenager!
This issue covers the Chinese Vice Premier’s visit to Angola, Africa Development Bank assistance, a $81.7m loan from the World Bank for development projects, concerns on freedom of association and expression, UN calls to put an end to rape on the Angola – DR Congo border, floods in southern Angola, improvement in child mortality and the end of UK bilateral aid to Angola.
In this issue:
Frank Kalima a church leader there has been in touch with his link parishes in Teddington and Hampton where we learn of heavy rains affecting many of the satellite churches:
‘Before I resume the office work I went to visit all the churches at Chimoio, Mahurunga and Mahipa. It was very sad news. Because of the heavy rain which we received this year at our area the Church at Chimoio fall down also School which late father helped the population at Chimoio also fall down. Church at Mahipa also washed away due to heavy rain now both these congregation are worship under the cashew nut trees. This is the bad news which I would like to inform. The good news which we have is after the physical disappear of our father Fenias the Diocese has sent to us a New Father Ntiko whom will take control of all this area.
At last this is our first week of saints, please send greetings to all our fellow congregation of all parishes.’
68Kb). These will be sent, separately to this email, to all ALMA Reps. Like our guidelines for visits, and sending goods, these are always work in progress and your comments are really valued. Some of you may subscribe to the Anglican Communion News Service updates. Two recent ones are of particular interest to ALMA:
‘a unique customised mapping tool for the Anglican Alliance was unveiled. The mapping tool, linked to the website which will go live later this year, will make it possible for every diocese throughout the Communion to showcase its development work.
Each diocese can have a photogallery on the Alliance website, and details of their development, relief and advocacy work will be included in a database. This will enable people to share best practice. It will also demonstrate the huge amount of development work undertaken by Anglicans around the world, and provide powerful evidence for use in advocacy’
Delegates attending the first consultative conference for the Anglican Alliance in Nairobi have called for the Communion initiative to have as two of its key priorities the development of an Anglican Bank for savings and loans and a public education campaign on financial literacy and rights.
… participants decided on the priorities that they wanted to see the Anglican Alliance develop. These included:
- An Anglican Bank for savings and loans
- A public education campaign on financial literacy and rights
- Partnerships and collaboration for development
- Participatory budgeting to improve economic governance
- Advocacy for economic justice
The consultation, comprising delegates from right across Africa and other regions of the world, agreed that the Alliance should also focus on peace and reconciliation as a second area of development policy and governance as a third area.
The consultation also decided the outline of advocacy strategy. For 2011 participants decided to focus on economic empowerment, the theme of this year’s G20. They decided to focus on the key themes of:
- Access to finance
- Food security – working on the impact on people of increased prices of food
- Financing of basic services, including health, sanitation and water.
Looking forward to seeing you on 16 May. Please RSVP.
With best wishes,
Sheenagh Burrell
ALMA Co-ordinator
Tel: 020 7932 1231 Tuesdays Diocese of London, London Diocesan House 36, Causton St, London SW1P 4AU.